Make My Friday, Building A Business From Scratch

Hey it is Friday! Feels grate eh?
Lately i appreciate the weekend's tiny brake very much and i have serious reason.

As you all know this period I'm kicking my ass pretty hard trying to create something totally new in my working life.It is a small clothing collection  based on my sketches and ideas and some wonderful organic cotton t-shirts ( i traveled the world to find a good supplier). The whole collection is hand made by independent small manufacturers, mostly women. 

After battling with a mountain of problems during the previous long lasting months, wrong partners, fatal clothing manufacturers, financial problems and a massive attack of negative coincidences, i can finally see all  the hard work coming true. My line and a new e-shop are going to be ready during the next month (or a bit longer) and i am more than excited!

The cocoandsilk.com project is my new born child and like every parent i am totally in love with it. Trying to start something new is extremely risky and i have made many mistakes -  but is there really a way to escape from this? Day by day i learn from my mistakes and i try too hard, but you know... really - really hard .
My biggest mistake was that i hired other people to help me start  the project before i had a totally clear vision of how i wanted things to be. Turned out, this was a total waste of time ....and money! On the other hand, i had a major support from my family (C is always loyal to what i do, is there really a biggest achievement for a mother?) and a few good fiends like my beloved Despina Deco , she is such a huge help and source of inspiration.

Looking back, i would certainly had done things in a different way and maybe i could had saved a huge amount of money, time, and a calm soul.

To be continued...

Do have a wonderful weekend!
Send me your experience of a similar situation, every advice is valuable.

Love, K.

photos by cocoandsilk

My Muji

The first time i visited Muji was during a trip to the United Kingdom, many years ago. I think i loved everything about this store and its philosophy, right away.  Muji is a temple of design, everyday use products become small pieces of art. There is nothing not to love about this brand, they keep a pure and simple line in everything they produce, the quality is excellent and i like the fact they keep some of their products on production for many years now. Most of the times i prefer to buy stuff for my job, like stationery or pens, but their women accessories are also a smash, not to mention their unique linens for the bedroom. If i could, i would be more than happy to have their wonderful sofas in my place, of course.... i find it a bit complicated to try order a sofa....

I wonder if we share the same passion for well designed everyday stuff that make our lives not only easier but also prettier.

Love, K.

photos by cocoandsilk

Design I Love

The moment i came back from my trip i started thinking about my long awaited home refreshment. During my days in Paris i visited some very interesting design shops and i had a million ideas dancing into my head. I know it is not easy to make radical changes, i could not afford it anyway, so i decided to walk step by step and start first with C's room that looks a bit tired and it definitely needs that teenage aura, then i will have to work with my room which is not that easy. The space is occupied by a huge wooden closet and no matter how much i tried to make  this place look better i came to no solution - lack of imagination? - i can't  think of anything different. This means i will have to play with color and pattern to make the room feel more spacious and airy. Anyway, the products of this  Australian company are nothing but adorable and i can put them just anywhere. I love everything about them, the shape, the colors, the price and the fact they ship all over the world.

Bride and Wolfe has a small but super attractive range of products that can really transform a place.
Since the colors i chose  have already been delivered, it is up to me to get the brushes and start working. I am dying to show you the 'before and after' photos ...i know you will fall in love with the after ones.

Have a beautiful day

Love, K.

photos via brideandwolfe.com.au

Make My Friday, Where I Buy Flowers

I absolutely love flowers and i try to have them around me as often as i can afford. 

After i tested almost all the flower shops of the city center, i finally found the one that has the best prices and the most fresh flowers, not to mention how kind and helpful they are.

It is such a small place, they mostly use the truck outside the shop and i really like the fact that because of it, the whole road smells and looks so nice. Furthermore, you can have a really big bouquet because you buy fresh and you buy low and then you go home to arrange these beauties wherever you like.

Have a lovely weekend.

Love, K.

photos by cocoandsilk

Free Day In Paris

After we had all the running for the Premiere Vision exhibition and all the fabric shows, we kept a day just for us to enjoy the beauty of the city. For me, it was impossible not to visit the Pompidou Center where an exhibition about architecture and design from the 80's till today was taking place together with the Jeff Coons event. I have to confess i spent the biggest part of my morning there as i also visited the wonderful gift shop of the Center and got lost into the hundreds of art books. Unfortunately, the free space in my luggage was very limited so i only took two books, poor me!

The rest of the day was a total joy with me and Despoina walking around Montmartre, we found some amazing boutiques and had a perfect lunch at Le Pain Quotidien. Maybe it was the wine  but it was in Montmartre where i made the biggest sin, ok, that Isabel Marant jacket was impossible to be ignored. Later, we had an amazing coffee at Merci, i am in love with this shop, design, fashion and food under the same roof, what is more to ask for?

The weather was just wonderful, lots of sunshine, people were having dinner outside, we were two extremely lucky girls. Our biggest torture? It had to be the Paris metro, old, dirty, we had to use a compass to define our route...mess... it was our daily joke to talk about our route mistakes, but when you spent a day in Paris with your good friend , everything seems to be reason for a smile!

Have a beautiful Wednesday

Love, K.

photos via cocoandsilk

Paris , Work And Leisure

Visiting Paris is always a joy. This time i wanted to visit .Premiere Vision Paris, but how is it possible to be there and not to arrange some free time to enjoy the city?

The exhibition show lasted three days and it was a bit stressful, so many people,, so many traders, so many hours to talk and see and watch and ask and meet and introduce who you are and what you are doing. It was a big relief i made this trip with my good friend Despoina so i had someone to share a glass of wine after a long day. Of course we had a free day just for us so we had time to enjoy the city and the amazing shops and restaurants.

Have a beautiful new week

Love, K.

photos by cocoandsilk

Make My Friday, My Dark Valentine

Today i would like to make a confession....serious eh?
First of all it is not something new that i am not very impressed with Valentine's day, see here. On the other hand i feel a strong attraction to all those love affairs that bloom into the dark side of love. From Anna Karenina to Eduard Scissorhands i can't find anything more romantic than to love someone with passion, even if you know you can never have him-her. OK, i know you may find this ridiculously old fashioned but love has to be passionate and beyond rules, so for all of you my dark Valentines i now wish:
Happy Valentine's day!   

Love, K.

 

main photo by cocoandsilk, other photos via here

The One, Two, Three Breakfast

Every morning when i wake up i have a million things to do, this means i have very little time for me to enjoy a full breakfast so even though pretty small,  i try at least to make it as healthy as possible. I call  my morning table the one, two, three breakfast cause i always try to combine three different fruits. I do admit though the temptation to eat something heavier like eggs and bread and cheese and honey and milk and... the list is long, is very strong but since i  do not have the luxury for a king size breakfast, i feel just grate with my three fruit rule.

 C. on the other hand prefers the one, two, three slices of bread  with butter and home made marmalade while the three cups of coffee is certainly another category.

Have a lovely day, 

Love, K.

photos by cocoandsilk

On The Run With Kinfolk

Hello my sweeties,

 i hope you had a loooovely weekend as for me i had a million things to do and i can't really say i had enough time to rest. Tomorrow i am leaving for Paris so the days to come are going to be pretty busy.

While i try to get organized and prepare my stuff for the trip, i decided to carry  some Kinfolk copies with me, it would be nice to read them on the plane, also a bottle of my favorite green tea that is so refreshing and delicious. 

So, keep in touch as we will have lots to talk about in the next few days.

Have a creative Monday!

Love, K.

all photos by cocoandsilk